A day in the old and new

Today, we explored the belle ville that is Montreal.

Started the day with "le petit dejuener" in the hotel, which tempted us with French pastries, oh la la. Oh yeah, we had protein too. And fruit!

Something I forgot yesterday in my notes about New Jersey - we did a great job of "eating Jersey" in our short time there, including meals of: Italian, diner, Friendly's, bagels, Portuguese BBQ, and even a coffee at Dunkin' Donuts.  Well, we are on vacation, after all!

Anyway, back to Montreal!  After breakfast, we hit the streets, winding our way to Vieux Montreal - the old part of the city.  It's down by the river, and, as we are up by Mont Royal, our path was a gradual downhill one.  Saw several more defaced campaign posters along the way -Trudeau is a favo(u)rite target.  Lots of bikes, too, and something I haven't seen before -- metered bicycle lock posts.  They are everywhere, and although they look like they can accommodate up to two bikes, we mostly saw only singles.  There are bike lanes throughout the downtown area (one lane each way, together on one side of the street.)  Helmets are not very popular, apparently.

Torch?

Along the way, we came across what we believe to be the headquarters of the Canadian Olympic Committee.  The building is crowned by the Olympic rings, and features a sculpture resembling a torch out front.  At the base of the torch are the names of every athlete who has won a medal in the Olympics for Canada.


The old part of town is famously charming, and a mix of old and new, European and North American.    Cobblestone streets, old churches, old civic buildings, and a lot of charm.  Not that many of us tourists around at this time of the season, so a bunch of shops are shut.  That's ok.

Along the water in the old port, there are a number of buildings that are no longer being used for their original, industrial purpose.  One of them is an old tower, and we saw people gathered up on top of it.  Turns out that if you want to part with about 100 Canadian dollars, you can "walk" down the side of the building - a reverse rappel, if you will.  We could hear the people shrieking as they returned to terra firma!

Also along the water, we found a welcome friend - the Seven Seas Navigator!  She steamed into port this morning, giving the folks on board a chance to spend their last day of the cruise in Montreal.  We waved to her, and promised to be back tomorrow.

The trees are turning colors, as promised.  We enjoyed a stroll through a couple of small parks with pretty trees.

We resisted the opportunity to take a carriage ride around Vieux Montreal, but enjoyed seeing the horses (and their ID badges!)  waiting patiently.  In fact, even before we got to the cobblestones, I could smell the horses <grin>

We found the Marche Bonsecours, a building that has been, at times, a hotel, the temporary Houses of Parliament, and even a theatre.  It now houses art galleries, shops, and a few restaurants.  (not nearly as precious as that all sounds - tasteful, but understated.)  We were lured in by the Red Canoe shop, which features all kinds of stuff we like, including a lot of aviation-themed clothing.  Yeah, we spent some money.  Followed all that with a tasty lunch in a combo cafe-gallery.  Yum.

Marche Bonsecours

With just a day to spend in Montreal (this trip!), we'd prioritized the things we wanted to see and do.  We are both big fans of the Olympics, and could remember when the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, so we wanted to see those grounds. A quick trip on the Metro out to the site made that easy.  We opted for a trip up the Tour (tower) without the whole tour of the grounds, as it was getting on in the afternoon.  It was cool to see it all laid out, though, and we walked around the grounds a bit before going up the Tower.

We went to the top of the tower

The tower itself is part of the Olympic stadium, and is billed as "the world's tallest inclined structure."  They have a funicular that takes you up to the top, and it's designed to keep you upright (of course) rather than gradually tilting to 45 degrees.  Those who aren't fans of heights probably wouldn't like it, but we both thought it was great!  Once up top, you have fantastic views all around Montreal, and there are pictures helping you understand what you are looking at - local countryside, city streets, even images from the 1976 Games (who remembers Nadia, for example?)

After the tower, we were both a bit bushed, so decided to head back to the hotel (also, it's a straight shot on the Metro from there.)  Stopped at Tim Hortons on the way back - nothing says Canada quite like Timmy's!  I had a "Tim Glace"  or "iced coffee" in English. Lots of students, as we are close to McGill (as previously mentioned.)

After a bit of a rest, we headed out to find dinner, taking a winding route through the neighborhood.  Ended up at a place with the somewhat boring name of Burger Bar, but it was great, nonetheless, and it fit the bill.  I had a quintessentially Montreal dinner of Smoked Meat Poutine - perhaps not very nutritious, but supremely tasty.  Our waiter was extremely friendly (as everyone else has been), and he had visited Seattle this summer, as it happens.  We had a nice chat with him.

Walked home in the dark, intrigued to see and hear a couple of Cessnas flying directly overhead. Wonder what they're up to?

Tomorrow:  up for breakfast, coffee, tagging the luggage so they can whisk it off to the ship, then off for one last tootle around the neighborhood.  We will head to the ship about midday, and we sail at 1800 (that's 6PM EDT)

Bonsoir!